I love it/I hate it/And this is how I rate it...

Reviewer Ratings

Overall Rating

7/10

Value

8/10

Reliability

7/10

Quality

8/10

Performance

9/10

Styling

9/10

Comfort

9/10

"I bought my '02 GLS 1.8T Tiptronic wagon in May of 06 with 61k miles. It is my daily driver and with a 25 miles commute each way, it is currently sitting at 92k. I love many things about this car. The styling is very handsome, I think the Passat is one of the best looking entry level family cars available anywhere. It looks especially sharp in dark colors, such as the Indigo Blue Metallic (dark blue) paint mine sports. It is extremely comfortable and roomy, long road trips are a pleasure and with the rear seats folded down the cargo capacity of the wagon is postively cavernous. It has more cargo capacity than my friend's Jeep Grand Cherokee! The car is a blast to drive, I love the manual shifting capability of the Tiptronic. The 1.8 engine, like any turbo, is slow off the line but once you hit 2000 rpm it sings pure performance opera. And it returns a respectable 24 mpg combined, with up to 32 mpg on long road trips. The interior is the nicest in its class, lots of nicely textured surfaces that look like they came straight out of an Audi. My experience hasn't been all roses, however. The engine threw a rod at 83k miles and completely destroyed it. The weird thing about it is that it had always run on synthetic its entire life, and had none of the turbo sludge buildup that is usually responsible for the failure of these 1.8 liter engines. Thankfully, VW of America agreed that it was a defective engine and cover the cost of the engine replacement, which was a staggering $8,000. My other big complaint with the car is that it is WAY too low to the ground; it bottoms out constantly and I've partially ripped off the front bumper cover three times from catching it on curbs and concrete parking barriers, to the tune of some $300 per repair. Also, the car has numerous squeaks and rattles, which have grown more numerous with time. Overall, I have a love/hate relationship with this car; I love the classy styling, comfortable interior and gutsy yet gas sipping turbo; I hate the ridiculous 4.5 inch ground clearance, the sqeuaks/rattles and the fact that the engine blew up at 83k. I personally am unlikely to ever own another VW due to their spotty reliability and high parts cost, but here's my reccomendation to people considering this car: Its a great car overall, but if you buy it, buy one that's still under warranty and get rid of it as soon as it expires. Or if you do get one out of warranty, the purchase of an extended warranty would be extremely advisable."

Good Car but parts cost

Reviewer Ratings

Overall Rating

8/10

Value

9/10

Reliability

9/10

Quality

7/10

Performance

8/10

Styling

8/10

Comfort

7/10

Pros: "good car great handling"

Cons: "parts"

Likely to recommend this car? (1-10): 8

"I have had my car for almost 10 years and have over 200,000 miles on it. The biggest con I have on it is the parts replacement nothing is cheap. It also likes to eat headlights. But compared to other cars with the type of mileage it has it has been a great car and i hope to drive it till the wheels fall off."

"When you go to Europe you will see a lot of these cruising around in different generations. Why? Because it's reliable, durable and stylish vehicles. Europeans prefer the diesel engines over the gas but I love the power of my car. Well built, fully equipped family car with great suspension. The design is so solid and simple that you don't feel it's outdated or old. It's a car looking car not like some of the Korean designs. Those looks outdated after 2 years.
Maintenance and oil changes are more expensive than Japanese cars but it gives you so much more pleasure to drive. You should find alternative options for repair. The VW dealerships are expensive. Go there for major tune-up only. My other car is a Honda Accord so I know what I am talking about."

"The 1.8T was redesigned to fit in the B5 Passats which causes the oil not to flow correctly causing sluge. You MUST use the VW approved oil or you end up with a dead engine sitting on the side of the road. ALSO the timing belt MUST be change or it will fail without notice causing a total engine failure leaving you on the side of the road. Other than that, great mileage, fun to drive, and VW drivers always get speeding tickets. Its built for speed and comfort and you will notice that when you passing a State Trooper at 90 MPH!!!"

"Love this car. I have driven it for over 103K since bought. Timing belt is the most intensive job. Done around 80K can run about $800 if not DIY. Since I am a DIYer and a car nut, I have no problem with the extra attention this car and most German cars need. You need to know what does what and look out for potential issues. This is not a honda or a Toyota appliance. It is meant to be driven. Also, it requires regular maintenance and does not take kindly to neglect. I love the way it handles, though not on stock 15" tires. Power delivery on the 1.8T and V6 is smooth and adequate, stock. I still regularly hit up to 30-32 mpg on the highway, loaded. I only scored it low on recommendation because it is not for everybody with regards to maintenance. Other than that, I could not be happier with it. It is the longest I have ever kept a car."

"Purchased as a certified vehicle with 18k miles, it has been my best experience with a car. I had 3 Accords prior and was compelled to sell each by 160k (I no longer felt safe and comfortable on the highway). My Passat still feels more solid and steady than the many cars I rent (though a recent rental of a Volvo C30 was quite nice) and I would drive it cross-country today without hesitation. It can be expensive to repair, but still a fraction of the cost of new vehicle depreciation. I have had less to repair than my Accords."

"I bought the car barely used and have thoroughly enjoyed it. It is a great blend of comfort, fun driving dynamics, and utility. It has held up well with regular maintenance and daily use. At 156K miles, it still is tight, rock solid, and fun to drive. I plan to keep it until I drive the wheels off of it - 300K seems reasonable"

"Car was great and problem free until about 70K. Then unrelated problems kept coming and coming: no heat, leaking coolant, thurmastat, leaking gasket, rear defrost, regulator in door (works window), etc. Made all repairs at dealership, but new problems persisted. I thought it would run until 110K . Now spending too much time and money repairing and just want to get rid of it.
When it worked, it was great. Loved it. Only complaint was it was a little underpowered. Great ride, sharp looking and very convenient. Even with problems mentioned above, car never failed to get me where I needed to go and never overheated."

"I've been driving this car for about a year and it's had over 200,000 miles on it since I bought it... still runs great and is a very dependable car. I took it out during the recent snowstorm and it heated right up and kept me and the engine warm without skipping a beat. In the summer, the AC is very cold and is quick to work even on the hottest of days. I definitely recommend!!!"

"There are not many German engineered vehicles like the Volkswagen Passat TDI sedan and wagon. They have best heated seats. The blue and pink diode gauges are a nice added touch to the interior. I wish that VW had this car in a GLX that would offer the automatic Climatronic and the rain sensor, auto dimming interior mirror, pwr. seats and last but not least the pwr. folding mirrors. The B4 passat wagon is hands down the best built and reliable Passat on the market. I would highly recommend this vehicle."